Since February, more than 700 people have died in Myanmar’s military coup. Violence does not spare children, and 43 minors were reportedly killed either in the streets or in their own home. While 6-year-olds are being shot in the head, the international community has observed this explosion of madness, brutality, and violence. This dreadful situation pushed the international NGO Save the Children to proclaim Myanmar as “no longer a safe place for children”. Repeated attacks and widespread violations have demonstrated a total disdain for children’s lives and put an abrupt end to their future goals, hopes, and dreams. However, such statements tend to ignore a grimmer reality. Indeed, in certain areas of the country, children have seen their basic human rights being scorned for decades with the complicity of the government.
MYANMAR’S UNWANTED RECORD
In the early 2000s, Human Rights Watch declared Myanmar the country with the largest number of child soldiers present in its territory. Serving both the military, also known as Tatmadaw, and ethnic armed groups, underage fighters were regularly used in hostilities and forced to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians. This situation was largely documented and nearly all armed groups reported having regularly involved children in hostilities. In the early 2000s, they represented close to 20% of Myanmar’s active soldiers.
The Myanmar government has long turned a blind eye on this issue, despite the country’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. Under the pressure of the international community, a Joint Action Plan was finally signed in 2012 to end and prevent the recruitment of children, resulting in the release of 956 soldiers by the military between 2012 and 2019.
Another significant step was taken in 2019 with the adoption of a new Child Rights Law followed by the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child or child soldier treaty. Enacted by the UN General Assembly in 2000, this text called for the adoption and effective implementation of national legislations ensuring the prohibition of minors’ enrollment both within the military and non-state armed groups. This was considered a significant victory towards the preservation of child rights, yet the concrete application of such texts quickly raised questions. Certainly, in a country scarred by endless armed conflicts and state absenteeism, the lack of respect for the rule of law has long prevented the restoration of security, and continues to obstruct a return to peace and stability in some territories.
THE TENACIOUS PROBLEM OF CHILD SOLDIERING IN RAKHINE STATE
A look at the latest figures on children and armed conflicts in Myanmar demonstrates that the State has failed to take all necessary measures preventing grave human rights violations against minors. Between September 2019 and June 2020, 432 grave abuses were registered, with the forced recruitment and use of children in fighting still representing the highest number.
Unsurprisingly, Rakhine State tops the list of the principal hotspots for violations against children. The recent surge in violence in the long-lasting conflict opposing the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army deeply deteriorated civilian security. As a result, children are increasingly exposed to arbitrary arrests, kidnapping, sexual abuses, and killing.
Despite an apparent decline in forced enrollment among troops, the use of minors for non-combat purposes is still a reality on the ground. Reports expose the involvement of children in camp functions such as maintenance or rice cultivation. The arbitrary detention and interrogation of children as a new way of gathering intelligence is also heavily denounced by civil society groups.
The constant rise in child casualties in conflict-affected areas must also be reported. In particular, the Myanmar military have recently been blamed for continuously putting children at risk and engaging them in hostilities. Last October, two young boys were killed after being used as human shields in a mine clearing operation. Despite the quick opening of an investigation and an apparent willingness to hold accountable those responsible for such crimes, many NGOs such as Human Rights Watch have denounced this shocking incident as another blatant example of the prevalence of a sense of impunity in the area.
THE NEED FOR GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY
The launch of reintegration programmes by the Myanmar government in 2012 with the support of international and local NGOs was regarded as an important step towards the acknowledgement of child soldiering as a national issue. However, no significant change will be achieved without addressing the root causes found in the country’s political instability, extreme poverty, and rampant racial and ethnic discrimination. It is worth noting that Rakhine is one of Myanmar’s poorest states. Composed of a predominant ethnic population, 85% of its children are currently facing the risk of extreme poverty. In some internally displaced people (IDPs) camps, close to 53% of the total population are minors who are at higher risk of exploitation.
The complete absence of state authority and the restrictions of access to some parts of the region also play a major role in the persistence of child soldiering in Rakhine. With only a few NGOs having limited access to the territory, the prevalence of a sense of impunity among local armed groups and military forces comes as no surprise.
For decades, the silence of the authorities has enabled a culture of violence, legitimising extreme behaviours. Amid the instability now facing the country, the issue of child soldiering is unlikely to become a national priority. Quite the contrary, the military’s brutality seems to have intensified since its generals seized power. Civilians are now running out of Myanmar to flee violence and repression, leaving a bleak future behind.
Megane obtained a master’s degree in International Relations and a five-year degree in Political Sciences. She is interested in human rights, conflict resolution, humanitarian, and migration issues.